Originally Posted By leemac There isn't anything happening on Beastly Kingdom right now. I wouldn't expect it to suddenly spring to life any time soon either. I hope not too Kuzcochik. There is so much more they can do than add another castle to a WDW park.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I think it might be neat to have an indoor rain forest. There is one in the aquarium in Baltimore, with a glass roof (Don't know why it's in teh aquarium) that is very neat. It feels like you're outside, but it is much more humid and a little warmer. They have bridges about 10-15ft above the ground, so you are totally surrounded my plants and animals. It is a really cool experience. As for DAK not lending itself to night time, clearly you have never been there after dark. Until last march I would have agreed thet it would be silly to go there at night, but I was there for a special ceremony, and while it was going on the park closed and the sun set. When we got out, it was completely dark and the park was empty. There were lights that blended in with the scenery very well, and we didn't even notice them during the day. They were pretty far apart, giving out just enough light to see. It made for a really cool feeling, like you were walking through the jungle to some village or something. Also, the Tree of Life really comes alive at night, with lights on the trunk and ones on the leaves from the area where the branches split off. It looked very surreal, really bringing out the animals and becoming a glowing icon for the park. DAK by night is definately one of the coolest things WDW has to offer. (I would also really like to see what Dinoland could look like at night!)
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney DAK is amazing ---- day or night. There's plenty of lighting along the paths. The only thing keeping the park from being open is not having enough attractions, not having some kind of night entertainment and having no real full-serve dining. Looks like they're working on all of the above.
Originally Posted By Kuzcochik Personally.. I think DAK can be scary at night (this is only when you're alone). I'm serious!
Originally Posted By FoxHound I'd love to see them do something to Kali River Rapids---which is a nice ride, but I actually enjoyed Thunder River at Six Flags Over Georgia more. It'd be nice if they added an animatronic tiger/dragon creature like the one that was on Kali Rapids T-shirts years ago. It would also be great (though probably impossible) to lengthen the ride. I'm sure nothing will happen to Kali anytime soon though---they have bigger fish to fry. Wow, attendance drop at MGM---who saw this coming? Maybe they'll get an Indiana Jones ride and new Star Tours next. Animal Kingdom has so much potential---hopefully Disney will keep the additions coming.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj FWIW, attendance at Disney/MGM has risen every year since 2001. Not back up to the pre-9/11 levels -- but Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom are the only 2 parks in the Disney empire that have managed to do that so far. Maybe there are some issues with Disney/MGM, but the attendance figures from 2002-2005 don't back up a claim that Disney/MGM is losing a massive number of guests.
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Internal sources have indicated that D-MGM attendance has fallen over the past 6 months as has guest satisfaction ratings.
Originally Posted By leemac <<losing a massive number of guests.>> That wasn't what I claimed anyhow. I said attendance had fallen. In light of the fact that WDW's festive season was the highest attended in the resort's history it may be that attendance has stagnated when compared to the other three. I must admit it has still looked fiarly busy to me just walking around.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj ^^ Good feedback -- you did state that attendance was "tanking." I correlate that to mean "massive," but I'll be more careful when I paraphrase.
Originally Posted By trailsend >>>>They should build a Narnia dark ride in Camp Minnie-Mickie. It would be cool if they could make the omnimover cars look like sleighs, which start as white, and change to brown.<<<< Best idea, DouglasDubh! Maybe someone will see this one.
Originally Posted By leemac I must admit that I can't put my finger on why but my gut feeling is that Narnia just doesn't belong at DAK. I think I'd prefer the film references to be at MK and D-MGM. mrichmondj, ditto for me. "Tanking" may have been a little excessive on my part. D-MGM hasn't risen significantly despite LMA! being very popular. Hopefully the new parade later this year/next year will help. Lee
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh There were supposed to be mythical animals in DAK. The park could also use a long, slow dark ride. A Narnia ride could give us both.
Originally Posted By basas <<Internal sources have indicated that D-MGM attendance has fallen over the past 6 months as has guest satisfaction ratings. >> << must admit it has still looked fiarly busy to me just walking around.>> Interesting...I can't remember the last time I was there when the place wasn't completely dead. (Although I've only been to MGM 3-4 times over the last 6 months). Does ToT, Star Tours, or Great Movie Rider EVER generate a wait anymore!?
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Really? I must admit that I've spent more time there over the holidays recently but it always seems reasonably busy (especially Sunset Blvd and Osborne). I know January was pretty rough on them though.
Originally Posted By Labuda "I must admit that I can't put my finger on why but my gut feeling is that Narnia just doesn't belong at DAK. I think I'd prefer the film references to be at MK and D-MGM." I'm totally with you on that. In fact, I'd almost say it DEFINITELY should be the tudios that get a Narnia ride or some type of permanent attraction - D-MGM needs it much more than the MK. Right now, for me, MGM is a 1-to-3 hour park. Not even a half-day to do all I want to do there, and I've managed trips in that lasted as little as 45 minutes before!
Originally Posted By basas <<I'm totally with you on that. In fact, I'd almost say it DEFINITELY should be the tudios that get a Narnia ride or some type of permanent attraction - D-MGM needs it much more than the MK. Right now, for me, MGM is a 1-to-3 hour park. Not even a half-day to do all I want to do there, and I've managed trips in that lasted as little as 45 minutes before!>> I can spend a good full-day at MGM (easily), but it is slowly sliding down in my rankings. Before Everest, I would have put MGM easily into 3rd place (at WDW), but now AK/MGM are probably tied and MGM seems to keep falling behind. I'd still put it a long ways ahead of DCA but...they need to really turn things around.
Originally Posted By melissa_m From a newbies perspective, MGM was our least favorite park. Yes, we still had fun there, and I LOVED RNRC, but it wasn't quite like the other parks. First off, we got there later in the morning than I wanted to. Then, we couldn't see the shows we wanted, because of the times schedule. We had to split up so the boys could see Indiana Jones, and so my mom and I could see Beauty and the Beast. It was just weird to me. We visited on Thanksgiving day and it was very crowded. Had to fast pass RNRC and ToT. Fantasmic was packed that night. The next time we visit WDW, we'll go to MGM again, but we didn't enjoy it as much.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I think that Narnia just doens't feel right because it brings in so much outside stuff. I know that ITTBAB and Dinosaur are also based on movies, but they are different. ITTBAB actually opened before A Bug's Life, and isn't one of the big headliner attractions (ironic, considering its placement). Dinosaur doesn't really give me that feeling, because it was developed and opened, without a movie tie-in in mind. It was later that they slapped a new name on it, but very little changed. Narnia, however, would probably be a big attraction, which also adds a lot of theming to its area, wherever it may be. It is also based on books that have been popular for a long time, and don't really scream Disney yet. It also has (or had) a lot of controversy and literary critiques that I really don't think need to find teir way into a park that is about celebrating the natural beauty of the world. I think that it would be a great segway from the real area to the surreal area, but it just doesn't seem to make sense in the park.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I'd rather we forego any more movie tie-ins for the rest of Animal Kingdom.
Originally Posted By mstaft I agree- leave the movie tie ins for MGM. Both DAK and MGM need some family friendly dark rides, though.
